Current AFL Season!!!

[ninjaboy]

Well the NAB Cup is under way, and the real stuff will start soon. I can't wait!

Do the Cats, with a new captain, get a 3rd premiership in 4 years? Will Ablett go to the Gold Coast w/ his family? Will Stokes ever play again?

Can the Saints, minus 2 A-grade players in Ball and Lovett go as well as last year? How many more matches will Reiwoldt's body last?

Adelaide look to have a side that can beat about anyone! How far can they go in September?

The Mighty Bombers - What will this suprisingly talented young side achieve?

I don't know about you, but I cannot wait to find out!

[ninjaboy]

And surely the Bulldogs and Hawks should be challenging for the flag as well this year!

[Infelice]

Go the PIES!!!! and the Lions too

[Cybrweez]

I thought AFL was out of commission...

Oh, sorry, wrong country.

[StevieG]

I haven't watched much of the NAB cup yet. But I'm definitely looking forward to the season!

I think it was Earthfriend, SleeplessOne and myself (can't remember any others...) talking about the finals last year which was fun - here

I don't know much about the teams as yet, but the Cats must be getting a bit long in the tooth by now? We'll see!

[ninjaboy]

it was a great finals series, both the Crows and Bulldogs were very unlucky not to make it through their matches against St Kilda and Geelong.. Be hoping to do better this year!

Though the Cats have been knocked out of the NAB comp by the Roos, which I didn't expect..

[ninjaboy]

I think it's been a good season so far..

Tho Adelaide has come right off the rails, and Richmond are struggling much ore than I thought possible! Good that Melbourne and Freo are doing so well!!

And the Saints, where do you think they'll end up? Looks like the Pies and Cats are WAY ahead of all comers so far..

[StevieG]

Big one this Friday night - Cats v Pies!! You'd be going to that one wouldn't you SleeplessOne, being a cats supporter?

[SleeplessOne]

heya StevieG, gents, sorry I'm late to the discussion - realised I havent been to Kevinswatch for a week or two and was taking the time to catch up with all the Last Chronicles speculation before I stumbled upon this thread ..

I didnt make it to the game StevieG (I dont go all that often, but follow the Cats pretty closely regardless) but watched it on the box and of course was chuffed with the win.

I reckon the Cats are in some of their very best form, probably havent played such a clinical and exciting brand of football since early last season (I thought they relied more upon grit and toughness to win through to the Premiership last year; the sparkle is back at the moment though)

Ninjaboy, the Saints are an interesting one, I reckon they are doing pretty well under the circumstances : for starters, obviously the Riewoldt injury has had a huge impact on their game. Secondly, they've been 'up' for a season and a bit now, they are 'the hunted', teams want to measure themselves against them and knock them off.
I think that despite a couple of losses St Kilda have shown a lot of mental fortitude so far this season.
The Saints fitness staff, doctors, specialists and faith healers will be working around the clock to get Riewoldt back on the field.
I can see him doing a 'Brad Ottens' and coming back just in time for the finals fairly fit, hungry and ready to go.
So I havent written them off by any stretch.

For mine Melbourne and Freo have been the most interesting teams so far this year, Melbourne have had a bit of excitement about them and are fun to watch again - and more importantly, competitive.
Freo's new-found consistency and ability to win away from WA (or at all, really) has seemingly come from nowhere; it'll be interesting to see how they finish off the home & away season. Finals are pretty much a certainty for the Dockers now, they would fancy themselves for a top 4 spot too ...

[StevieG]

Business end coming up, my friends!

Hey SleeplessOne, could be a battle of the stripes this year! It's all looking very interesting.

[SleeplessOne]

Business end coming up, my friends!

Hey SleeplessOne, could be a battle of the stripes this year! It's all looking very interesting.

hey there StevieG, good onya for reviving this thread, was a lot of fun posting on the lengthy one of last year ...

It *is* all looking very interesting as you said.
I just quickly wanna go back to the start of this particular thread which Ninjaboy kindly kicked off and look at some of the questions he posed at the dawn of season 2010 :

Do the Cats, with a new captain, get a 3rd premiership in 4 years? Will Ablett go to the Gold Coast w/ his family? Will Stokes ever play again?

The first part of that question is obviously still to be answered. The Cats have given themselves every chance by finishing the home&away season in a top 4 position. The captain, Ling, has come under some scrutiny during the season for various reasons; umpires have cracked down on his tagging tactics. He's looked slower than seasons past (which is saying something, as he was never exactly quick !)
The Ablett question is another one still to be resolved. A month or so ago I was fairly sure he was gone. Now I'm fairly sure he'll stay. Throughout he has played as brilliantly as ever.
Stokes paid the penalty for a very serious lapse in judgement (I think the court case was a bit of a wash-out in the end, 'trafficking' a gram of coke was always a little ridiculous). He has come back to the game fairly strongly.

Can the Saints, minus 2 A-grade players in Ball and Lovett go as well as last year? How many more matches will Reiwoldt's body last?

the Saints have really been the quiet achievers this year imo; they weathered the loss of Riewoldt, their biggest match-winner, admirably - at times they have looked a tad shaky, but they have done what very good sides always manage to do - win. Their form hasn't been as irresistable as 2009, but they are still right amongst the action.
Friday night's Grand Final re-match with the Cats will be a cracker.

Adelaide look to have a side that can beat about anyone! How far can they go in September?

this one looks funny in hindsight, but Adelaide were widely tipped to finish top 4 this season. Things obviously went horribly wrong.
They turned it around a bit as a club towards the 2nd half of the season, but it was too little, too late.
The loss of McLeod, Edwards and Goodwin (and Bock to the Suns) means a completely new-look Crows will take the field next year. They have a lot of talent on their list (Tippet/Dangerfield/Van Berlo/Vince for starters), I can't see why a return to the top 8 would be out of the question.

The Mighty Bombers - What will this suprisingly talented young side achieve?

suprisingly little.
They are verging on becoming a basket-case.
They have some flashy players but little of substance apart from valiant skipper Jobe Watson.
The sacking of Matthew Knights, whilst probably appeasing the fans, was pretty unsavoury.
I predict a couple more troubled seasons ahead for the Bombers.



As for the upcoming finals series (wow this has turned into an epic post)

really interested in seeing the Freo vs Hawks game. Two unpredictable teams. If the Hawks win through they may really challenge.

Swans and Carlton could be a cracker; this game will probably have the least publicity surrounding it, but I can see this being a free-flowing, entertaining game to watch.
Swans are a team that I've grown to respect during Paul Roos tenure as coach.
Carlton, are a team I've struggled to respect (salary cap cheating, lots of cheap high draft picks) - *but* I have to admit they are one of my fave teams to watch. Disappointing big Matthew Kruezer, one of my fave young players, won't get a chance to show his skills due to his season-ending knee injury a while back.
But Murphy, Gibbs, Judd, Betts, Kade Simpson etc are fun to watch and should give a good account of themselves.

Bulldogs and Collingwood is looking like it could be a bit lop-sided, the Pies, despite losing last week, have been in ominous form, while the Dogs have a few injury worries and have been up-and-down form-wise all season, despite finishing 4th.
But finals can bring out the best in some teams, and I expect the Dogs to lay down a good challenge to the Pies.
Reckon Collingwood should win this one though..

Saints vs. Cats - I dont really wanna think about this one - I'm stressed already ! I'm actually going to this game too, I dont get along to the footy very often so wish me luck, I may well have a heart attack !

[StevieG]

Nice summary SleeplessOne!

I was in Melb a couple of weeks ago with my son and was hoping to catch a game, but unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side, and I thought taking a 7 year old to a rainy, windy cold footy match wouldn't be the most pleasant for him!

Good luck with the cats! I think they'll be fine, but I share your nerves (but with the Pies, even though they're tipped to win, the wobbles are always in the back of my mind!).

[StevieG]

Well, some upsets!

Looks like the Pies and Cats might be heading for a preliminary showdown! Of course, the cats have got to get over Freo first, but I think they'll be pumped after the Saints loss, and get over the line.

[SleeplessOne]

hope so Stevie G, hope so !

went to the game on Friday, was pretty gutting, couldnt hear the whistle as Ling kicked what looked to be the winning goal, so I was up celebrating and carrying on only for the goal to be disallowed and StKilda to hold onto victory.
Freo will be a tough challenge.

Cats or Freo will play Collingwood in a prelim

Swans or Dogs will play StKilda in the other prelim - is that right ?

Carlton and Hawthorn bombed out, Carlton would be quite disappointed with the manner of their defeat, while Hawthorn, who threatened to give the finals a real shake, barely fired a shot against the Dockers.

Lenny Hayes and Aaron Sandilands were stellar performers for their teams.

[StevieG]

That must have been a shocker SleeplessOne! I watched it on TV, and it looked like there was nothing in the tackle. It took the fans a long time to realise that the free was given to the Saints.

I'm pretty sure Swans or Dogs will be playing the Saints in the prelim. I reckon the Dogs have a chance, although everyone around me thinks the Swans will kick their arse.

Hawthorn were looking promising after their narrow win over the Pies, but fizzled (maybe it was the Docker's pressure?).

Carlton fans must be gutted also, they trailed for a good portion of the match, then got a good lead, only to lose the game. Had their chances though.

PS. EDIT: Go the Pies!!

[StevieG]

You've GOT to be kidding!

[ninjaboy]

That was a pretty epic end to the season!
Only the 3rd drawn GF in the entire AFL/VFL history.. And the re-match eventually won by the best-performing team all season.
As much as I'd like to, I can't deny that the Pies are worthy winners.
As for the Saints, they were out of their league and IMHO were quite lucky to force the draw in the first game. I really do think they'd have had a better chance of winning had they kept Ball and were able to use the exciting, line-breaking pace of Lovett.

The year sure didn't go as I had expected.. The immense improvement of Collingwood and Fremantle, and the completely unexpected decline in fortunes of the Crows, who played pretty deep into September last season.

With 17 teams next season I suppose we'd better not have any expectations about how the season will unfold..

[Landwaster]

Amusing to today see a post on Bigfooty from a member called "UrLordUnbeliever" ... just HAD to send an abusive PM

Own up, which are yer!

[SleeplessOne]

Amusing to today see a post on Bigfooty from a member called "UrLordUnbeliever" ... just HAD to send an abusive PM

Own up, which are yer!

yes I noticed this a week or so ago, I sent the person a PM but as yet no reply ...

... can imagine this person at the footy "Hellfire, just kick the bloody thing !"

[StevieG]

Let me know if you find anything out!

Big game Friday SO - Cats v Pies! What's your tip?